Comparing the Effectiveness of Mental Rotation and Working Memory Exercises on Cognitive Errors in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have cognitive weaknesses and deficits. Therefore, the present research was conducted with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of mental rotation and working memory exercises on cognitive errors in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Methodology: The present study was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The population of this study was all male and female students in the second period of elementary school of Kashan city. The sample of the present study was 60 people who were selected by available sampling method and randomly assigned into three equal groups including two experimental groups and one control group. Each of the experimental groups received 8 sessions of 60 minutes with mental rotation and working memory exercises, respectively, and the control group remained on the waiting list for training. Data were collected with the SNAP Rating Scale (Swanson et al., 1981) and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (Broadbent et al., 1982) and analyzed with multivariate analysis of covariance and Bonferroni post hoc test methods in SPSS-25 software.

Findings: The results of this research showed that both mental rotation and working memory exercises in compared to the control group reduced cognitive errors (and all its components, including distraction, memory problems, inadvertent mistakes, and inability to remember names) in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and the effectiveness of the mental rotation exercise method in compared to the working memory exercise was greater in reducing their cognitive errors (and all its components) (P<0.001).

Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it is better for psychologists and counselors to use the mental rotation exercise method to reduce cognitive errors in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.